Graduating early. Does it matter?

[buccal]

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I'm thinking of graduating early in december just to save up some money for dental school. Do the adcoms care about early graduation? I'll be fulfilling all requirements for dental school and my major by next semester so...

If I state in my app that I'll graduate in April and change my plans to graduate early, would that matter?

 

[ummjoey]

i dont think so.

there are plenty of people who graduated and are applying to dental school.

why dont you just put on the application you are going to graduate in december?

 

[Amalgam4U]

I agree w/ Joey. The only reason to stay would be to boost your GPA, but I'm pretty much convinced that GPA/scores don't matter that much if you're around an avg applicant for the school you want. More of a pre-requisite than a ticket in.

 

[NewMexDent]

Actually, if I had the choice, I would have taken the fall semester off and still graduated in April. This would have made it a whole lot easier to go to interviews. Just something to think about.

 

[Toothfairy08]

Hi-- I will be starting as a D1 at the Univ of MN School of Dentistry next fall... When I applied, I wondered the same thing so I asked the UoM adcomm. They replied by saying that it would never negatively affect my application so long as I was content with my GPA, etc. They also said that if anything, it might work in my favor financially speaking.

I went ahead and graduated in December and I don't regret it at all. The adcomm was definitely right--it HAS helped financially. I have now had this entire spring semester and will have the summer to do nothing but work and save money for school. Sometimes I worry that it will be harder for me to get back into the swing of school and studying again when d-school starts in August, but I'm sure it won't be a problem. I'd also state that your graduating in December on your application--it shows that you have worked hard and are highly motivated at what you do! It also shows that you have considered your future thoughtfully. Why hide that?

My advice: graduate early--you've obviously earned it! use the time to work and save money for school (while also saving yourself a semester's tuition!) 👍